I'm holding on tight to  the harness bells of the horses  today.  Can you hear them?  Jingling brightly as the horse's trot...and tinkling lightly as the horses stand at attention and throw their heads back and "neigh!".   Yes, we can hold on tight to the harness bells of the horses today (in our hearts), and we can have hope for tomorrow.  What do I mean? I mean--we can read the Bible and hold on  to God's promises.   We can encounter sin and sorrow, darkness and depravity today ...but God's Word gives us hope  because we will hear the holy harness bells   of the horses tomorrow. What do I mean? Zechariah 14 tells it like it is...and it's ugly.  People are sinful.  People are bad.  People have turned away from God, and our world is bad .   ...But our God is good . And we can have a light in our darkness today, because this (bad) is not how it will always be. A day is coming when  the Lord wi...

My husband is the gardener. He plants, and waters, and weeds, and dutifully-and-happily loves on his plants day after day, and so when the harvests come in, it's my turn to get busy and make good use of the fruits (and vegetables) of his labor. Last night it was cucumber time, which meant that it was pickle time. Turning cucumbers into pickles isn't a difficult process, but as I walked through the recipe and steps, I decided that the ingredients involved with making pickles are unexpected...but essential. And it made me think of our lives, as we live them in faith for the Lord. We would like to think that following Jesus would be easy: like the cup of sugar that gets poured into the recipe for pickle brine. Wouldn't it be nice if our (faith) life was sweet and easy, all day every day, like sugar? And sometimes, our faith is. Taste and see that the Lord is good;  blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.  ~Psalm 34:8 Blessed is the one  who does not walk in step wi...

Nutritional value in Pop-Tarts today?   I'm pretty sure the answer is less than 1%, maybe even zero. But, when I asked our middle son if there was anything that he would like from home, (since his college roommate was in town and could pick it up), our son said, "Pop Tarts". Such an interesting request, (and one that is neither healthy nor fulfilling), but it was a request that I wanted to fulfill anyway, if it would make him happy. His friend was stopping over while we would be at church, and I had readied some other items for the campus-drop, but I had forgotten to buy some Pop-Tarts. I realized this minutes before our church-departure time, but luckily...we have a convenience store right by our house. I hurried there, hoping they would be open and they were. Not only that, but when I hurried into the breakfast aisle, they had Pop Tarts! I hurriedly grabbed some and hurried to the check out. I was in a hurry. Getting the Pop Tarts for our son was important to ...

Aaaahh, we are at the start of a new season in our family. A number of new seasons, actually. From fresh soccer-team starts, to college move-ins, to a new nest-total within our home...it is definitely a season of changes. And with the change from Summer into Fall, days-off into full-time, and just by the sheer nature of life , I know that all of us are experiencing change in our lives right now. It's inevitable. We want things to stay the same, but change (in our lives/in our world/in our selves) is constant. And so I know that I am not the only one starting a new season. God knows it too. And He is right here with us as we move into and through our changes. And we can praise Him for that. Praise the Lord .   How good it is to sing praises to our God,     how pleasant and fitting to praise him! ~Psalm 147:1 ~~~ What is your change? I am missing two of my children who (beginning a new year in college) are merging who-they-are  with who-they-will-be , ...

Ever read a horror story?  I went through a period when I enjoyed reading horror books, and Edgar Allan Poe is no stranger to me.  He wrote one short story called "The Tell-Tale Heart" about a guy who killed a man and buried the dead guy's heart under a floorboard in his house.  The only problem was.... his conscience.   The killer thought he heard that dead heart beating, and the guilt and the madness made him confess the murder to the police.   Sound freaky?  It is!  But it's a made-up (fictional) story, (which may or may not have similar themes to the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and unresolved sin in our lives and hearts).  And while Edgar Allen Poe is a great writer, his words are fiction. But God's word is Truth .   Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.   ~Revelation 19:11 If we have ever been captivated by...

It doesn't surprise me when my kids study for a test and then get an "A".   Should it?   Our before-activity has a direct-effect on our outcome. It doesn't surprise me when I am (actually) diligent about what I eat or snack on...and then I feel better about myself and within myself.   Should it?   Our before-activity has a direct-effect on our outcome. I love the Lord.  I pray very often to Him.  I know  that God hears us when we speak to Him (audibly or inaudibly).   The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  ~James 5:16 So, why should it surprise me when I pray...and God answers?  It should not surprise us when God hears us  and answers us. Our before-activity has a direct-effect on our outcome. Perhaps we expect His answer to be delayed...because so often, it is.   We pray and desire for now , and God's timing often seems on a different clock than ours.   And you and I bot...